David Blatt, Israeli-American Former NBA Coach, to Sign With Turkish Team

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David Blatt. Photo: Facebook.

JNS.org – David Blatt, the Israeli-American former head coach of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Cleveland Cavaliers, is reportedly close to completing a deal to coach the Turkish professional basketball club Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul.

According to ESPN.com, Blatt is close to finalizing a multiyear contract with Darussafaka worth $1.7 to $2 million per season.

Blatt, 57, led the Cavaliers to the NBA Finals last year, but was abruptly fired in January despite the fact that the Cavaliers led the Eastern Conference standings with a 30-11 record at that time. The Cavaliers, who lost in six games to the Golden State Warriors in the 2015 Finals under Blatt, will begin a Finals rematch with the Warriors on Thursday.

Blatt grew up in Framingham, Mass., and played college basketball at Princeton University. Following his college career, he played professionally in Israel for more than a decade, then coached several professional teams in Europe before becoming Maccabi Tel Aviv’s coach in 2010. He led Maccabi to a European league championship in 2014, his final season coaching the team.